Boomer's Rescue
Location: Vandalia, Illinois Date: December 29, 1991 Story For the past four years eleven-year-old Heather Wheaton of Vandalia, Illinois, has waged two courageous battles against brain cancer, despite numerous operations, radiation therapy, and the loss of much of her sight and hair, she continues to inspire everyone. "I thought if Heather had a puppy, it would give her incentive to come home from the hospital after her operation," said her mother, Pam. Heather had lost three guinea pigs and one dog. "When I first saw Boomer, he sat on my lap and he looked at me with his black eyes like 'Let's go home,'" said Heather. On the evening of December 29, 1991, Pam and her husband, Todd, had to go out so they had arranged for Heather to stay at her grandparents' house while Boomer stayed behind. He started to whimper when he saw smoke and fire in the house. All of the sudden, the laundry room was on fire and he kept barking for help. At about 8:30pm, Officer Sonny Bernal was driving through the neighborhood. "I was on routine patrol this evening when I noticed the house was on fire. He immediately contacted the fire department and tried to see if someone was in there. A firefighter who lived nearby rushed over to help. "We confirmed that no one was in the house, but we could hear a dog whining. But the smoke at that time was getting too thick and we couldn't stay in there any longer," said Officer Bernal. Within seven minutes of the call, the Vandalia Volunteer fire department arrived on the scene including firefighter Gary Burton. "When we first arrived the smoke was billowing out of the house and was very thick and very, very black. One of the firefighters came out and said that he had heard a dog whimpering inside the house," said Burton. A neighbor called Heather's grandfather, Harold Tidwell, and told him that there was a fire in her house and that Boomer was inside. "I thought, 'Oh no, Boomer.' I didn't want Boomer to die," said Heather. The firefighters all knew about her illness and thought that it just made it that much more of a fight to try and save Boomer for her. Pam and Todd arrived as soon as they heard what had happened. As soon as the fire was contained, the rescue workers went back inside to search for Boomer. They found him, took him outside, and assessed his condition. "His pulse was very rapid, he was unconscious, he would not respond to any painful stimuli, and we couldn't him to respond at all," said Gary. Paramedic Marc Ponsl did CPR on Boomer. "I was telling Boomer to try hard and live for Heather," said Todd. The ambulance arrived on the scene and gave him oxygen. Boomer began to move and respond. He was rushed to the his veterinarian, Dr. Connie Heaton, who met them at the animal hospital. "When I first saw Boomer he was almost unresponsive. I stayed with him by myself treating him, watching him, seeing how the drugs were affecting as he became responsive and started wiggling. I couldn't hold him on the table anymore. That's when I knew he was going to be okay," said Dr. Heaton. At the animal hospital, Boomer was treated for smoke inhalation. Three days later, he was finally reunited with Heather. "I act like he's my son and I said, 'Yeah Boomer, you made it,' and he licked me again," said Heather. She then got to meet the rescue workers who saved his life and thanked them. Category:1991 Category:Illinois Category:Animal Rescues Category:Fires Category:Holiday Category:Christmas